A-League likely to break for Asian Cup

Organisers of the 2015 Asian Cup want the A-League to take a break for the three weeks of what they say will be the biggest soccer event ever held in Australia.

The draw for the event's qualifying rounds was held in Melbourne on Tuesday night, but Australia is already through to the finals to be held in January 2015 due both to its host nation status and runner-up finish in 2011 in Qatar.

Sydney will host the final, expected to be played on January 31, the same weekend as the Australian Open tennis finals in Melbourne, with Sydney to also host the two semi-finals.

Melbourne will host the Asian Cup's opening match, on the weekend of January 8, but missed out on the games at the business end of the tournament, partly to avoid clashing with the tennis grand slam event.

The Asian Cup's Local Organising Committee (LOC) say while it was a crowded period in the sport and event markets, the tournament wants to avoid clashing with its own sport.

"The two potential solutions are that we continue the A-League in centres which are not hosting games or have a two or three-week mid-season break," LOC deputy chief executive Shane Harmon said on Tuesday night.

As well as Sydney and Melbourne, matches will be played at Canberra Stadium and in Brisbane, almost certainly at Lang Park.

That leaves Perth, Adelaide, Wellington and Newcastle as potential A-League venues if the domestic competition continues.

LOC chief executive Michael Brown said the event had the capacity to leave a lasting legacy for the sport in Australia and Football Federation Australia (FFA) needed to make the most of it.

"This has got to be their marketing because this is the biggest football event that will be held in this country," Brown said.

"And arguably with 2.5 billion people (potentially) watching on television it will be the most televised event this country will have for a long time."

Japan, South Korea and North Korea are also already qualified for what will be a 16-nation event.

There will be six group games and a quarter-final in each of the host cities.

The Socceroos will play a group game in each of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane and if they reach the last eight, their quarter-final is unlikely to be in Sydney, given that city is hosting the matches that follow.

'Great contests'

Three-time champion Saudi Arabia was placed in the same group as 2007 winner Iraq and China in the preliminary draw in Melbourne on Tuesday.

Iraq, which beat the Saudis in the Jakarta final five years ago, headlines Group C along with 2004 runner-up China and 2007 co-host Indonesia.

Triple champion Iran will face 1980 winner Kuwait, Thailand and Lebanon in Group B, while Uzbekistan will meet Hong Kong, 2007 quarter-finalist Vietnam and the United Arab Emirates in Group E.

Syria was drawn with Jordan in Group A along with Oman and Singapore, while 2011 host and quarter-finalist Qatar makes up Group D with Bahrain, Yemen and Malaysia.

The top two teams from each group and the best third-placed team among all the groups will qualify for the tournament proper. The qualifiers begin in February.

"The preliminary draw has thrown up some great contests and we are sure to see some exciting matches over the next 18 months," Asian Football Confederation (AFC) acting president Zhang Jilong said.

"We're thrilled that AFC's newest member, Australia, will be hosting Asia's flagship national team competition for the first time."

Football Federation Australia chairman Frank Lowy said Australia was determined to deliver the best Asian Cup yet.

"This will be the largest football competition ever staged in our country," Lowy told the official draw ceremony.

"It will be a feast of international football, and we're confident that Australians will get behind all the 16 teams, as we have shown for other major events."